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The Effect of Maternal Work Conditions on Child Development

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  • Christina Felfe
  • Amy Hsin

Abstract

This study goes beyond the much-studied impact of mothers' labor force participation on children's development and investigates how mothers' working environment affects children's cognitive and non-cognitive performance. Using data from the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the Occupational Information Network and applying a value added plus specification we find a negative impact of the hazards involved in mothers' jobs on their children’s non-cognitive achievement, but not on their cognitive performance. Nevertheless, stratification according to mothers' verbal skills reveals that only the personality development of children of mothers with high verbal skills is affected. Upon further investigation,we find that a possible mechanism through which maternal work conditions affect child outcomes is through reduced mother-child interactions

Suggested Citation

  • Christina Felfe & Amy Hsin, 2009. "The Effect of Maternal Work Conditions on Child Development," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2009 2009-32, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen.
    • Handle: RePEc:usg:dp2009:2009-32
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    File URL: http://ux-tauri.unisg.ch/RePEc/usg/dp2009/DP-0932-Fe.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ruhm, Christopher J., 2000. "Parental leave and child health," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 931-960, November.
    2. Lawrence M. Berger & Jennifer Hill & Jane Waldfogel, 2005. "Maternity leave, early maternal employment and child health and development in the US," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(501), pages 29-47, February.
    3. Charles L. Baum II, 2003. "Does Early Maternal Employment Harm Child Development? An Analysis of the Potential Benefits of Leave Taking," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(2), pages 381-408, April.
    4. Autor, David & Dorn, David, 2009. "Inequality and Specialization: The Growth of Low-Skill Service Jobs in the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 4290, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Yoram Ben-Porath, 1967. "The Production of Human Capital and the Life Cycle of Earnings," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 75(4), pages 352-352.
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    Cited by:

    1. Berger, Eva M. & Spiess, C. Katharina, 2011. "Maternal Life Satisfaction and Child Outcomes: Are They Related?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 142-158, February.
    2. Dimitrios Nikolaou, 2017. "Maternal Life Satisfaction, Marital Status, and Child Skill Formation," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 43(4), pages 621-648, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Child Development; Maternal Labor Supply; Occupational Disamenities;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions

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